Born in London on August 15, 1875, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was raised by his English mother after his father, a physician from Sierra Leone, West Africa, returned to his native country following the failure of his practice. Coleridge-Taylor demonstrated musical aptitude from his earliest years, giving his first public violin recital at the age of eight and becoming a choirboy in Croydon. At the encouragement of his choirmaster, Coleridge-Taylor entered the Royal College of Music in 1890, where his classmates included Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. After graduating from the Royal College of Music in 1897, Coleridge-Taylor received his first commission in 1898 at the recommendation of Sir Edward Elgar, who deemed the young composer “far and away the cleverest fellow going amongst the young men.” He achieved early fame with his Hiawatha Trilogy, which became a sensation in both Britain and America and established him as one of the most significant Black composers of the early 20th century. The Christmas Overture, arranged after his death from incidental music written in 1909 for a children’s play titled The Forest of Wild Thyme, captures Coleridge-Taylor’s warmth, compositional skill, and love of traditional melodies. Familiar carols such as “Good King Wenceslas” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” are woven into an orchestral tapestry full of radiant harmonies and festive exuberance.